Theory Exam Part II Flashcards
What is interesting about the words present, export, frequent, absent, etc. from the word-formative point of view?
Shift of stress
Name some main types of meaning
• denotative
• connotative
• social
• expressive
• collocational
Can a word have a lexical and a grammatical meaning at the same time? Explain. Give an example.
*Lexical meaning: This is what a word stands for on its own, like its dictionary definition. For example, the word “run” means to move swiftly on foot.
Grammatical meaning: This is how a word functions in a sentence. It’s more about the role the word plays rather than its specific definition. For example, in the sentence “She runs every day,” “runs” shows that it’s happening now and that she is the one doing it.
What do the synonyms X (cop) and Y (policeman) have in common, and how do they differ in terms of meaning?
• They name the same thing but they have a different lexical meaning.
• Policeman: denotative meaning
• Cop: expressive meaning
Define the term connotation. Give an example.
Connotation is the extra feeling or meaning that a word carries, beyond its basic definition. For instance, “cheap” might mean low cost, but it also carries a negative connotation, suggesting poor quality.
Also snake
Give an example of a word which is both emotionally and stylistically marked.
Abhor, exquisite
Use the adjective X (heavy) to explain the notion of collocational meaning.
The word heavy has quite different meaning in combination with different word: heavy suitcase (weighting a lot), heavy rain (pouring), heavy work (difficult), heavy schedule (busy)
What is polysemy?
When a word has acquired a new meaning and this meaning is related to the original meaning, we speak of polysemy.
Why is polysemy so common?
Words often acquire a new meaning, which is related to the original meaning.
What is the difference between sentence and utterance meaning?
• Sentence meaning can be defined in terms of the combination of at least 3 components: the meaning of the individual words, the order of the words, the semantic scope of these words.
• Utterance meaning is the meaning that sentences have on a particular occasion and in particular context
Characterize the procedure called componential analysis of meaning.
Componential analysis is like taking apart the meaning of words to see what smaller pieces make them up. Linguists do this by breaking down words into basic parts, like size, shape, or color, and seeing how these parts combine to create different meanings. It’s a way to understand how words work and how they relate to each other.
Give some types of semantic changes.
• specialization and generalization
• metaphor
• metonymy
• personification
• irony
• hyperbole and understatement
• euphemism and dysphemism
Specialization of a meaning occurs when …
Specialization (narrowing) of meaning means restricting the word’s range of reference.
What does the process of generalization of meaning refer to?
Generalization (broadening) is a process in which a word’s meaning changes to encompass a broader group of referents.
What is the connection between semantic motivation and the notion of metaphor?
Semantic motivation is about how words sound or look compared to what they mean. For example, words like “buzz” or “whisper” sound like the noises they describe, so there’s a connection between their form and their meaning.
Metaphor is when we use a word or phrase in a way that compares two things, even if they’re not literally the same. For instance, saying “time is money” compares time to money, even though they’re different things.
